


Even Death Can Find Love

by emjellybean



Series: My Soulmate, Death [2]
Category: The Maze Runner (2014), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Death!Minho, M/M, minho is death, teens now!, weird ass concept
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-02-22 22:39:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2524262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emjellybean/pseuds/emjellybean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now, years later, things are a lot different and Minho is going to set off to high school. Things don't go exactly how he would expect them to and he isn't sure if that's a completely bad thing or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one is more than one chapter! Whoo!  
> I don't particularly like this title, so if you have a good one, TELL ME! I NEED TO KNOW!!!! I'LL CHANGE THAT SHIT!  
> Oh and also tell me if there's any grammar mistakes and stuff of that sort...don't tell me I suck, though, I already know that.  
> Otherwise, I hope you enjoy, my lovlies~ ^^
> 
> (Btw the first paragraph is totally just bullshit because I didn't know how else this situation would happen, but it might end up coming in handy earlier. Maybe he'll meet that higher power or the higher power will have great importance later on...or not. I don't know yet. Haha. ^^;)

It hadn’t been something he was expecting. He hadn’t gone to school in a pretty long time. He never finished elementary school or middle school, yet he had all the knowledge he needed. It was given to him after he had become death. He knew most things he needed to know for his life, so there wasn’t much reason for him to do anything else. But…he’d gotten this message. Not physically, but mentally. He heard a voice in his head whom he’d recognized as a high power, but he couldn’t make out exactly who it was. They’d told him they’d made a few exceptions and tweaks and had taken care of business, so he could go to school. He wasn’t about to question it because shit was weird and he already knew that. He was given an opportunity to do something he wanted and he was going to do it without question. He was going to go to High School.  
  
Maybe we should back up a little, though.  
  
When Minho was 7 years old, he and his immediate family died in a house fire. For some reason, he didn’t go to Heaven or Hell or wherever people go when they die, if they even go anywhere. He didn’t have access to that information. Either way he was, simply put, resurrected. He didn’t know by who or why, but he was given the role of Death and with that, a lot of information. Almost too much to handle. Then, he was put back on earth. A 7 year old boy with too much knowledge that he didn’t know what to do with. He knew what he was, he knew what happened to his family, he knew people would die if he touched them…he knew that he would get new information in his brain every time a person died or was born.  
  
He was given the cloak and skull mask as a joke because apparently whoever has control over these things finds the human interpretation of the being Death to be funny. It didn’t go to waste, though. He decided that if he wore it, maybe it would be better for everyone, so that’s just what he did. It seemed to work. No one really ever even noticed him, really. It’s like he wasn’t even there.  
  
Because Minho didn’t need to eat or drink, but he did need to sleep, he would spend most of his time doing things like, watching the scenery, playing by himself, and killing bugs that he hated with a hesitant touch of the finger. He felt like his life was boring and he missed his family overwhelmingly. He didn’t have anyone to even talk to. When the time of day came where he decided he needed sleep, he’d lay either on a bench or just curl up on the ground to rest for a few hours. That was all he needed. A few hours and he would be good and ready to go. Without the sleep, it would be much harder for him to process and contain the data that was constantly being stored in his brain.  
  
He was 7 when he met Thomas. The first person to ever speak to him and ever try to be his friend. He wasn’t very sure he should, but he played with him and they had a lot of fun…until he had tried touching him. The one thing he couldn’t let happen. He ran away because he was scared. He didn’t want to kill anyone and especially not someone he liked. Then, before he could process it, he was in a completely other area. He had been there before, but it was a long distance away from the park. He wanted to escape the situation and, subconsciously, he did. He didn’t know how to get back to the park the way he’d gotten to his current location and when he’d walked back, Thomas was gone. He didn’t see him again.  
  
The age of 7 was a hard year for him, in all, but after about nine months, he finally turned 8. He wouldn’t have known it was his birthday unless that was also part of something he kept in his memory. The very second he was officially 8 years old a lot changed. He was just in the park like normal. To him, being crouched down, watching the birds or feeding them was one of the best ways to pass time. The park was empty. There were no adults watching over their children. It was the middle of a normal Tuesday, so of course kids were supposed to be in school.  
  
“Hey.” He heard a woman’s voice. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school, kid? Where are your parents?”  
  
Minho hadn’t immediately known the lady, who was a police officer, was talking to him. When he realized it, though, he looked up at her through the holes of the mask and said nothing. He couldn’t understand why she was talking to him. It never happened before.  
  
“Where are your parents?”  
  
“I…don’t have parents.”  
  
“Your guardian, then?”  
  
He was silent.  
  
She sighed and crouched in front of him. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Minho.”  
  
“Why aren’t you in school?”  
  
“I don’t go to school.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“I can’t.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“I just can’t.”  
  
She had the feeling she wasn’t going to get far in this conversation. “Come with me, I’m gonna find your family and take you to them.”  
  
Minho shook his head.  
  
“Don’t shake your head, you gotta go.” She grabbed his arm, but it was over the cloak, so there wasn’t any skin to skin contact, which Minho was thankful for.  
  
When he realized she was going to be forceful, he panicked slightly. He was a pretty fast runner, but even if he got away from her, it wouldn’t be hard to find someone wearing what he was wearing. He would be in the area if he ran.  
  
She lifted him to his feet and kept a tight hold on his arm, so he couldn’t run away. She just wanted to help him. Then, the kid she had a grip on vanished. She let her mind process what just happened and looked around. He wasn’t there…at all. In the end, she decided that she was going to ignore that and blame it on her lack of sleep. Maybe she would take a few days off of work.  
  
After that, Minho never slept anywhere too out in the open. It confused him on why suddenly more people looked at him. Nobody talked to him; only the police officer had actually talked to him, but he felt like there were so many people’s eyes on him and it was only three days after he had turned 8. Those three days were different than any others and they were stressful for him because he couldn’t stop feeling like he was being watched all the time after all those days of getting no attention at all.  
  
He got used to it. At least, he tried.  
  
When he turned 10, he learned how to control whether or not his touch meant death. That’s when he decided he couldn’t keep living the same way as he had been doing. Every year he got a little bit smarter and his mind set changed slightly. This year, his mind was telling him to take off the cloak and mask and wear real clothes. His mind was telling him to try to find a way to make money, so he could maybe widen his options. He didn’t know how he would or why he would, but he did what his mind wanted. He got a job as a paperboy, bought himself some clothes (no one questioned him being alone when he went out shopping for some reason; maybe he just looked old enough), and started a different kind of life.  
  
When he turned 16, he got an apartment which he very trickily and carefully got. This year, he also wanted to learn. He wanted to be able to go to school and be normal like a lot of other people. He didn’t just want to earn money from being a paperboy. He didn’t really want that job much anymore, so he decided that soon he would find a different one.  
  
Learning, though. School. That was the main thing on his mind. He longed for being in school, even though he didn’t want to interact with people very much, learning new things was what he really wanted to do. That was when he got the message and the location of his school, which was in walking distance of where he lived. He was going to high school. 10th grade.  
  
One morning, he got a bag ready and set off for his first day of school in almost nine years.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mini baby chapter~  
> I keep typing Minho as Mingo and I don't know whether it's pissing me off or amusing me more.  
> Any who, tell me if there's any mistakes and, most importantly, enjoy! ^^

When he got to school, it was already the second week of the school year, so everyone was in the groove. The school was interesting, but nothing really surprised him and he was glad for that. There were a lot of people, all whom whenever he looked at them, he could instantly point out their name, age, blood type, and anything else that included their physical or mental state. It used to freak him out that he knew so much about all people, but now he was used to it. He went to his first period class and the bell rang, indicating class to start. 

His first class was Chemistry which was okay. He liked learning and that’s exactly what he was doing. His teacher was funny, but still taught the class and he liked that. He didn’t like all the students in the class, though. He knew he shouldn’t be too judgmental, but he couldn’t help it. There was a few students that just kept interrupting class and being so very not lovable with the way they were such unkind people. Especially towards certain people in the class. They seemed to like him, though, so he decided to stay away from them as well as he could as to not piss them off.

His class after that was English which was…well, not enough happened for his interest. He did get a book to start reading, though. To Kill A Mocking Bird. He’d be sure to read it when he got home.

The next class had to be the class that made his day just a little more interesting. He had Spanish. He could speak and write every single language perfectly, but the guidance counselor wouldn’t have wanted him to not take a language, he knew, so he didn’t go ask to get it changed. He was one of the first people that got to the class and after he had a quick chat with the teacher, he sat in the furthest back seat all the way to the right. He didn’t think there was much of a point of him sitting in the front if he already knew everything this class could have to teach. It bugged him a little that he was even taking the class, but he took it as a period for him to relax.

Then a familiar face walked into the room. Well, all faces were familiar to him, but that wasn’t the point. It was Thomas. His heart skipped a beat and he frowned at the strange feeling he had throughout his body. He felt bad for having left when they were children even though it wasn’t his fault. He realized when he was younger that he had a small crush on the boy he knew for a short amount of time. He never would have though that he’d meet him again, never mind have the same class as him.

Thomas walked into the room and looked at him, but then quickly looked away. Minho wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he was sure that it was just because Thomas didn’t know who he was and thought it was kind of weird to make eye contact with him. He was surprised when Thomas sat only a few seats to the left of him, no one in between, but he wasn’t complaining. Maybe they could become friends sometime that year. He didn’t have much hope, though. They didn’t talk once all class.

-

The next two periods, nothing happened. Minho noticed that Thomas was also in his math class, but other than that, he didn’t talk to anyone or do much of anything. Then came photography. Since school had been going on a few days, he needed to catch up on what exactly they’d been learning. To do that, the teacher told a student to help him and generally tell him how to use the equipment and functions of the camera. That student was Thomas.

“Hey.” Thomas greeted him, standing a noticeably farther distance than he stood from most people. "I'm Thomas." 

“Hi.” Minho responded. “I’m Minho.”

“I know.”

Silence.

“I-I mean. I know because the teacher told me. I obviously haven’t met you or anything, I know that. I wasn’t trying to sound weird.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, uh, I’m gonna tell you what you need to know.”

Minho nodded. “Alright.”

Thomas showed him the camera and pointed out several things, all of which weren’t very hard things. He also explained general settings and features to him.

Minho was listening, of course he was. He felt like it was his job to listen, but he kept getting distracted by Thomas. Thomas’s voice, his eyes, his lips…they were all knocking him a little bit off track, but he still managed to catch everything he said.

“Got it? I know it’s a lot, but…”

“No, I got it. I pick up things pretty quickly.”

“That’s good.” He paused. “So, um, we’re supposed to go out and take pictures and since we have to work in pairs and…everyone else already has a partner and stuff…” He trailed off.

Minho tilted his head slightly in confusion on what Thomas was trying to say until it processed in his mind. “Oh, you wanna pair up with me?”

Thomas nodded a bit shyly.

“Yeah, sure.” He smiled, feeling happy that he actually didn’t think he was creepy or weird. He wanted to work with him which meant being around him.

“Really? Cool.” Thomas beamed a smile. “We’ll have to wait until tomorrow, but It’ll be fun, I promise. It’s always fun to take pictures. Then, after we take pictures, I can help you with photoshop since we went over a bunch of shit before you were here and you need to know it to edit the pictures like how the teacher wants, so you can get a good grade because everyone wants a good grade and then it’ll be good for the, uh…the future and stuff, you know...college.” He babbled and then stopped, his face a light shade of pink. 

Minho was going to comment that everything he said was technically true and ask if he was blushing and if so, why, but the bell rang before he could.

“See you tomorrow.” He spoke quickly and gave a wave before scurrying out of the room.

"..." He watched him leave and then giggled quietly. He walked to his next class and whispered, “He’s still so cute.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typed this up late at night and therefore none of you can judge me.  
> Oh! And a little side note. The way Thomas acts around Minho and to Minho and all of that is the same way I act around people that I think are really attractive and/or have a crush on, so...yeah. That's why he's weird-ish because I'm very, very weird.   
> Tell me if there's any typos or any of that bullshit please (seriously, please tell me because if I reread it later and see there's a typo I literally get so mad and disappointed because people had to read through the typo and I'm just like "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!").  
> Also, I hope enjoy the chapter~ ^_^

That night when Minho went home he read the book he got for English which took him around two hours. Then he went out and did his paper route and that took him around 45 minutes to do. When he got back home, he laid down in his bed and thought about some things such as how the school year would go for him, if he would make any friends, and if he could find a job in the area that gave him more money. (He honestly didn’t know how he was still even living in the same apartment. It was pretty cheap, but…)  
  
He thought about a lot of things and one of them was if him and Thomas would get along. He wasn’t so sure about how Thomas really felt about him, but he did ask if he could work together with him and class. Even though it didn’t seem like he had a choice because everyone else was paired up, Thomas still seemed pretty happy when he said yes.   
  
Minho smiled to himself and buried his face in his pillow, taking a deep breath. He wondered how his second day would go.  
  
-  
  
The next day, Minho was a little bit disappointed. It’s not like he expected Thomas to talk to him all the time or be his best friend, but he didn’t talk to him once during Spanish. He did sit in the seat next to him, though. That and Minho noticed that he kept glancing over at him just for a second. It was kind of weird, but at least he acknowledged him.  
  
Then, during lunch, something unexpected happened. Minho sat at a table by himself, no food in front of him since he didn’t need to eat and he never really felt the urge to. He was spacing out as per usual when he heard someone sit down next to him.   
  
“Hey.” It was Thomas. “I can sit with you right?”  
  
“Oh. Yeah, go ahead.” Minho was glad, yet confused. “What about your friends?”  
  
“Oh, they’re all up in the library finishing some work they didn’t finish. I didn’t want to sit by myself while I ate and I saw you, so…” He shrugged and looked like he wanted to eat, but didn’t even look at his food. The two of them just looked at each other and said nothing.  
  
“…aren’t you gonna eat?”  
  
“Aren’t you?”  
  
“Not hungry.”  
  
“Neither am…okay, I’m hungry.”  
  
“Then eat.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
Then there was silence again. Minho watched him for a few moments and then decided that he probably shouldn’t, so he looked around, trying to find something else to focus on. It was a little awkward having Thomas here, but it was nice that he sat with him at all. Time passed quickly and all Minho was doing was staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about anything, but that was impossible with his mind.  
  
At this point, Thomas had already finished his food and thrown his trash away and for the past five minutes, he’s been trying to come up with something to say to Minho that would start a somewhat decent conversation, but he thought of absolutely nothing. That just continued the silence.  
  
This silence that always seemed to happen between them because they didn’t know what to say happened a lot. It happened most of the periods they were together in, the only time they talked being when they needed to give a simple instruction or say something to the other, but it was always short. Minho would have started up a conversation, but he didn’t have anything to talk about, so he stayed quiet. It felt like it was so much easier when they were kids because Thomas talked more. Now, neither of them talked and it wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t any progress in their potentially friendship or companionship.  
  
-  
  
A week passed and one day at lunch, Thomas pretty much slammed his backpack down on the table and plopped himself down in the chair beside Minho after never having sat there after the first time. He turned to Minho and looked him straight in the eyes. “I want to hang out with you or something or somehow just do…something to become your friend…or something.” Were the exact words he said and he almost immediately felt like a bit of an idiot.  
  
It hadn’t been what Minho was expecting to happen at all, so he just stayed quite for a second before answering, “What?”  
  
“I- I just…” Now Thomas was getting embarrassed. It had taken him the longest time to actually talk to him and say something, but he just felt like he said the wrong thing. He should have never listened to his friends.  
  
“Just wanted to hang out with me or something or somehow just do something to become my friend or something…right?”  
  
Thomas nodded slowly. “Yeah…”  
  
He seemed to be thinking about it, but in reality, he already knew that this was exactly what he wanted. Well, not exactly, but it was a damned good start. “Okay.” He said, acting nonchalant. “When do you wanna hang out?”  
  
“Whenever you can.” He tried hiding his smile.  
  
“Then…tomorrow after school? We can meet in the gym lobby?”  
  
“Yeah! Sounds great!” Thomas moved foreword to hug Minho, but then stopped, thinking that it would be strange. He grabbed his backpack. “Sounds…sounds really great. I’ll see you…well, next period actually, but also then.” He laughed the slightest bit. “See ya.” He said and quickly walked off.  
  
Minho sat still, seemingly calm, but on the inside he was well more than excited. He and Thomas were going to hang out, just the two of them, after school. He visibly smiled and then something hit him. It could go perfectly beautiful or horribly wrong, but he just really hoped that it would be the first one because the second option didn’t seem so good.  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! Next chapter!  
> Let me know if there's any mistakes like misspelling Minho's name (my damned fingers...) or anything like that.  
> I love you all~! Enjoy!

Just like they said, the next day after school they met in the gym lobby. The day before, they talked just a little bit more than they usually did, mostly their conversations just went something like, “So what are we gonna do tomorrow?” “I…I don’t know.” and then they stopped talking for at least the next ten minutes. They were both such awkward people and they knew that, but they wanted to fix it. So when they started walking out of the school together is when they made plans.  
  
Thomas got out a small notepad and flipped to a page, clearing his throat. “So, I’m not gonna lie, I wrote down some ideas during math of things we could do…”  
  
“Okay.” Minho said. “Like what?”  
  
“Well…” He looked down at the page. “We could get ice cream, which wouldn’t work if you were lactose intolerant or something and that’s why I kept writing. And I also wrote go out for coffee, but I don’t know if you like coffee. Then I wrote to go to the park, but then I realized it was closed and then I wrote…” He got out a pen and crossed off the bullet point, glancing at Minho and then crossing it off more intensely, trying to make sure it was illegible, a faint blush across his face. “You know what? Why don’t you just come up with something?”  
  
Minho thought for a moment. “Why don’t we just go to my house?”  
  
“Really?” He squeaked, but almost unnoticeably.  
  
“Yeah. We can just work on some homework or something. We have a few of the same classes and you need help with math anyways, I’m guessing because you always look frustrated or you aren’t paying attention…not like I stare at you in class. I’m just…when I glance over to you…” He tried to explain.  
  
“I get it, I get it.” Thomas put his notepad and pen away. “But we should totally go to your house. Lead the way.”  
  
Minho nodded and started walking to his house, which wasn’t very far. When they got to the apartment, he walked inside and to his own place. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, throwing the key on the table. “Lock the door when you come inside.”  
  
Thomas did as he was told and then took a quick look at his surroundings to see what it was like. It was a small place, a tiny living room and kitchen connected and a hallway where he assumed the bathroom and bedroom were. “It’s a nice place.” He told him truthfully. “Cozy. Do you live alone?” He frowned.  
  
“Yeah. No one else, but me.”  
  
“But…How old are you?”  
  
Minho gave Thomas a look that kind of scared him.  
  
“Never mind.” He said quickly and then there was the type of silence that he wanted to avoid.  
  
“Let’s go to my room. It’s more comfortable.” He started walking there, trying to get away from the atmosphere that was growing around them.  
  
Thomas gulped and followed behind him. He put his bag down on the bed, following what Minho was doing and then he sat down. “So…”  
  
“Want me to help you with the math homework?”  
  
“Yeah, that’d be great.” He took out the work they got for that night and he took a look at it. “This is literally the biggest bullshit I’ve ever had to deal with. Fucking math.”  
  
“Once you understand then it’s easy. Try doing the first problem and I’ll see what mistakes you make.”  
  
“Okay.” He started doing the problem, but got stuck very soon for two reasons. One, math was fucking hard. Two, Minho was currently looking at his paper from over his shoulder and breathing on his neck even though there was a lot of other space. It was distracting him, but he doubted Minho even knew that. He tried to thinking about what the next step was and then almost jumped when Minho spoke.  
  
“Do you know what to do?” He asked.  
  
Thomas shook his head. “No.”  
  
“Alright.” He took the paper and moved in a way that Thomas could see what he was writing as he explained. They were sitting way closer than they ever had before, arms and legs both touching.  
  
After Minho explained, Thomas tried again, almost getting the problem completely right. They kept working on the homework for about an hour before Thomas had finished, completely understanding it. Well, just that one topic at least. As Thomas was putting his math work away, he got a text on his phone. He looked at the text. “Oh…I should probably get going.” He got his stuff together. “Thanks for helping me, though. I wished I could’ve stayed longer, but I’ve gotta go home.”  
  
“It’s fine. I understand.” He walked with him to the door. “We could hang out more on the weekend, probably?”  
  
“Yeah, sounds good.” He smiled. “We can talk about it more tomorrow.”  He looked at Minho. “Well, um…bye.” He waved.  
  
“Bye, Thomas.”  
  
Thomas patted his shoulder awkwardly and then regretted it. “…bye.” He said and then left quickly.  
  
Minho grinned to himself, thinking about how cute Thomas was. He went to the couch, which was only a few feet away from the door, so he didn’t have to walk very far, and laid down, closing his eyes to relax. In times like these, all the information that went into what he liked to call “storage” would flood into his thoughts and they’d be the only things he could think about. He was used to it by now, but it was still so much. People died and were born in a matter of seconds. So many names and random letters and numbers came to his head faster than anyone would be able to keep up with except him. He just processed everything and remembered it in an instant. Everything was there and it was scary knowing all of these things.  
  
He laid in silent for a long while and then suddenly his eyes snapped open. Normally, he wouldn’t catch things like what he did just now, but this time what went through his mind hit much closer to home than usual. He sat up in the bed quickly and looked towards the door where Thomas had left from. “Thomas…” He whispered to himself. He got up quickly and ran out the door. He hadn’t left that long ago, so he couldn’t be that far. He looked around. Where could he be? There must have been a phone call or something by now. Someone must have called. He wasn’t going to be alright. There was no way he was alright. He just got the message of death in his head. He wasn’t okay at all.  
  
He stopped when he saw Thomas on the sidewalk. He let out a heavy breath and slowly walked over. He dropped to his knees beside him and with shaky hands, reached out to touch his shoulder. “Thomas?”  
  
He didn’t hear anything.  
  
“Thomas?”  
  
More silence.  
  
Then, there was a sob.  
  
“Are you okay?” Minho asked, wanting to wrap Thomas up in his arms.  
  
“M-my-my mom…” He cried, head on his knees, curled up in a ball “She…she…”  
  
 _“I know.”_ He wanted to say, but he didn’t because how could he have known? If he were normal, he wouldn’t have known. He bit his lip, just wanting the crying to stop, but he knew it wouldn’t. All he could do is stay there and be absolutely useless because after all, the only thing death can do is ruin everything.  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like short chapters that are more frequent, but I kinda want your opinion, guys. Would you rather have longer chapters every say, 3-7 days (depending on how much school sucks) or a short chapter every few days (once again, depending on how much school sucks)?  
> I wrote Mingo again, so that's a thing that's never gonna stop happening, but tell me if I made any grammar mistakes and stuffs.  
> Also, I think a good song for this part of the series would be Break In by Halestorm. Idk. I usually listen to it while I write. It's the theme song now.  
> As always, enjoy the story!

The only thing Minho could do was look at him. He brought his hand up to Thomas’s back and rubbed it, surprised when he felt Thomas’s weight shift against his chest. He slowly wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin gently on his head. He could feel the hot tears on his shirt and it made him want to cry with him. He felt almost guilty. Like it was his fault that she was dead. Like he was the one who killed Thomas’s mom. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but he had a feeling that Thomas not being able to see his mother before she passed was completely his fault. If he had suggested another day to hang out, Thomas probably would have seen his mother in the hospital. She died from lung cancer, which she was diagnosed with about a year before. He knew that she got cancer, but he didn’t connect the dots of who she was related to until she died.  
  
He knows he shouldn’t, but if he would have known it was Thomas’s mom, he would have told the reapers to back off. If he did, she would get better miraculously at the moment she was supposed to die. Then, he would let her live until she’s old before he would have someone take her away in her sleep or maybe do it himself. Doing this, of course, would have had a downfall. Someone else, maybe even more than one person, would die as a result of her living. It’s a domino effect. The reapers would shake their head at him, but say nothing. He would feel guilty, but he’d see Thomas, who was happy because the most important person to him was okay, and he would feel so much better.    
  
But he didn’t do that, so Thomas cried. He cried so much that after a while there were no more tears and just muffled sobs. He sniffled and hiccupped, his hands having a tight grip on Minho’s shirt. He pulled back from his embrace and hid his face from him, standing up.  
  
Minho stood up after him. “Thomas…” He took a step toward him and then stopped.  
  
“I-I’m leaving…” He said, back to Minho. “Thanks.” He walked away as fast as he could, rubbing his eyes.  
  
After that, Minho didn’t see Thomas for a week.  
  
The only reassurance Minho had that he wasn’t dead was that he just knew that he wasn’t. If he got the “message” that Thomas was dead, he wouldn’t know what he would have done. Just because he wasn’t dead didn’t mean he wasn’t in pain, though. He knew that Thomas probably wasn’t going to go to school after his mom died, but there was literally no word about him from anyone. He hadn’t seen him anywhere. That was until he went home one day and saw Thomas standing outside his door, eyes on the ground and hands in the pockets of his hoodie.  
  
Thomas looked up when he heard Minho walk in front of him. His eyes were a little red and he had dark circles under his eyes like he’d barely slept since the last time they saw each other. He raised his arm at a weak attempt to wave. “Hey.” His voice was quiet.  
  
“Hey.” He wasn’t really sure what to say to him. Definitely not, ‘I haven’t seen you in a week! Where have you been?’ or ‘Are you okay?’, so he just said, “Wanna come in?”  
  
Thomas nodded and the two of them walked inside. They both sat down on the couch and sat in a short silence. “Sorry I haven’t talked to you in a while.” He said.  
  
Minho shook his head. “It’s okay. I get it.”  
  
“…her funeral was today and I just…I wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t home, so I came here because I remembered where it was and I was in the area. Sorry for bugging you.”  
  
“You aren’t bugging me. Don’t even worry about it.” He did have to do papers soon because it was one of the days he did it, but he wasn’t going to worry about it right now. “Does anyone know you’re here?”  
  
“My sister knows that I’m out somewhere, but she doesn’t know that I’m at your house. Why?”  
  
“No, nothing. I just wanted to make sure someone knew where you were.” He kept his eyes on him for a few seconds. “I’m gonna be honest. You look like you need some sleep. Why don’t you take a nap in my room?”  
  
Thomas looked like he was seriously thinking about it before he nodded. “Okay.” He stood up and started walking there. He got to the bedroom, Minho following behind. He sat down on the bed. “Thanks.”  
  
“No problem.” He pointed at Thomas’s hoodie. “Want me to help you take that off?”  
  
“…yeah.” Thomas nodded sleepily.  
  
Minho reached for the hoodie and slipped it over his head when Thomas raised his arms up. He folded it and put it over the chair in the room. When he turned back to the bed, Thomas was already laying down, covered by the blankets, and snoring softly. He went to the window and shut the curtains. Then, he left the room, leaving him to his slumber.  
  
-  
  
When Thomas woke up, he forgot where he was. He sat up in the bed and felt immediately cold, so he wrapped the blanket around himself and got up from the bed. He walked out of the room and to the living room to see Minho sleeping on the couch and frowned. The couch didn’t look very comfortable. He walked closer to the couch and looked at his face. “I better leave him alone…” He went to take a step to go back to the bedroom, but instead he stepped on the blanket he was currently wrapped in and fell foreword right onto the couch that Minho was in, or rather, right onto Minho. His face was met with Minho’s chest and he had just a slight feeling that he wasn’t asleep anymore.  
  
“Thomas? Why are you on me?” He asked, still half asleep.  
  
“Fuck. Sorry. I fell.” He tried getting up only to fall back down again and then abandoned the blanket all together and, with much difficulty, actually got up. He rubbed the back of his neck while Minho got up.  
  
Minho checked the time. “Man, it’s late…”  
  
“What? What time is it?”  
  
“10 pm.”  
  
“What!?” He ran to the bedroom and grabbed his hoodie, quickly slipping it on as he checked his phone. “Shit, shit, shit. My sister texted me like eight times asking me where I was. I’ve gotta run home. Thanks for letting me in and sleep and stuff. I feel a lot better now.” He gave Minho a quick smile and, without thinking, a kiss on the cheek and then ran out the door to go home.  
  
Minho’s skin flushed and he put his hand on his cheek. “It’s no problem, Thomas…anytime…” He said even though Thomas had already left.  
  
Meanwhile, Thomas was standing still outside of Minho’s apartment, blushing furiously and wondering why the hell he kissed his cheek. Once he decided he’d play it off as no big deal the next time he saw him, he headed home, hoping his sister wouldn’t be mad at him.  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might regret writing and posting this chapter later because I'm tired, but I'm sure I'll work around it.  
> As always, tell me what's wrong with it if needed and enjoy the storyline that's bit bumpy at the moment, but I know where it's going, so we might be okay... ^_^;  
> Love you guys!
> 
> (Oh and this may seem random right now, but...I play the violin, by the way. You'll understand soon.)

The next time they saw each other was at school the next day. In photography, sixth period, to be exact. Almost right when Minho walked through the doorway, Thomas went up to him and greeted him with a, “Hey!”  
  
“Hey.” He replied. “I didn’t know you were in school today.”  
  
“Yeah, I came kinda late, as in like five minutes ago, but I couldn’t just abandon you again.” He half joked.  
  
Minho smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re here because class was getting really boring without you. I couldn’t even take pictures because you weren’t here.”  
  
“Well I’m here now, so we should walk around the school. There’s some nice spots we can check out.” He held up the camera. “I’m already good to go. I talked to Mr.C and he said that we could go whenever.”  
  
“Alright.” He put his backpack down at his seat and headed outside with Thomas, following him to wherever he wanted to go. They didn’t talk much, but unlike usual, it was a comfortable silence. One that didn’t feel like it needed to be filled with conversation. They took some pictures of the trees, flowers, and sky around the school and also some pictures of an animal or two they saw. What people usually took pictures of.  
  
Thomas stopped suddenly and looked up at a taller-looking tree. He turned to Minho. “Hey, I’m gonna see if I can get a good shot higher up.”  
  
Minho’s got worried for a minute and it showed in his facial expression. “Are you sure?”  
  
“Yeah, I’ve climbed trees plenty of times.” He grabbed onto a branch and pulled himself up. “When I was like eight.”  
  
“Thomas!” He walked closer to the tree, but didn’t try to stop him, knowing he wouldn’t be able to. “Just be careful.”  
  
“Don’t worry. I will.” Once he got high enough, he looked through the camera and searched for a good view of anything that would end with a nice photograph. He snapped a few pictures. “There isn’t the best view, but hey, I think I got something.”  
  
“Alright, that’s good. Now come down.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah. Okay, mo…” He made a small ‘mo’ sound and then stopped what he was saying. “…yeah, okay.” He mumbled and started to climb down. Caught up in his thoughts, when he was a shorter distance from the ground, his foot slipped and he fell.  
  
Minho’s eyes widened and he moved quickly to try to catch Thomas or at least break his fall. He grabbed him and got his arms tightly around him, but the weight of him falling made them both fall backwards onto the ground, Thomas on top of Minho. Luckily, they were both okay. Minho was a little sore now, but other than that, he was fine. He looked at Thomas to make sure he was okay and then let out a sigh of relief. “You.” He breathed out. “Are never. Ever. Climbing a tree again.”  
  
“O-okay. I’m sorry. I‘m really sorry.” Thomas apologized frantically. “Shit, are you okay?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. You think we got enough pictures?”  
  
Thomas nodded. “Yeah, I think we’re good. We should go back inside.” He said and just then realized that he was still laying on top of Minho and their faces were inches apart. He quickly got off of him and stood up, mumbling another, “Sorry.”  
  
Minho got up and watched Thomas, who was walking back to the school, for a second and then followed behind.  
  
When they got back to their classroom, the period was almost over, so they put away the cameras and then waited for the bell.  
  
Minho decided that Thomas probably wasn’t going to talk to him because he might have found the situation outside embarrassing or something. He didn’t really understand it much. That’s why he walked up to him and talked  to him himself. “So what do you have next class?” He asked him, surprised that he actually didn’t know that answer.  
  
“Oh. I have orchestra.”  
  
“Orchestra? Really? What do you play?” He was intrigued. He never knew that Thomas could play an instrument.  
  
“Violin, mostly. I kind of know how to play the cello, but they’re kinda different instruments no matter how similar the instruments look.” He was happy talking about it. He loved playing the violin more than he loved a lot of things  
  
“That’s cool. I wouldn’t mind learning how to play that someday.”  
  
“I could teach you.” He said, a little too quickly and a little too energetically.  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Yeah, it would be cool. I could go to your house or something and bring my violin and I could start with the basics and I’m sure you would be great at it.”  
  
“That’s sounds good. So, when’s a good time for you?”  
  
“Anytime is good, really. As long as it’s not too late.”  
  
“Okay, we can talk about it more tomorrow.”  
  
“Or…maybe we can text or call each other?”  
  
“Oh…sorry. I don’t have a phone.”  
  
“Oh. That’s okay. If you ever do…” He got out his notepad, wrote down the number, and handed it to him. “We’ll just decide at lunch tomorrow.”  
  
“Okay.” He nodded once and then he heard Thomas say, “I’ve been needing something to pass the time and Minho is…well, he’s Minho, it’ll be fun, probably and he’ll make me smile. We need to get closer anyways. We’ll never get anywhere not hanging out…though I don’t even think he really likes me likes me. Does he? Probably not.” There was silence and a sigh. “I miss my mom…”  
  
“Thomas, are you okay?” He asked, looking at Thomas’s seemingly calm facial expressions and ignoring the first part of what he heard for now.  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”  
  
“Well, with what you were saying…”  
  
“What? I didn’t say anything.”  
  
“You sure?”  
  
“No, I’m not sure at all. I have no control over my speech.” He said sarcastically. “Yes, I’m sure.”  
  
“Okay.” He most likely wasn’t lying, though. Why would he even say those things aloud? The thought crossed his mind for a second that maybe what he had heard was Thomas’s thoughts, but he wasn’t so sure. It wouldn’t be completely insane, but he had never heard anyone else’s thoughts before. Why would it randomly happen? He snapped out of his thoughts when the bell rang.  
  
“Wanna walk with me?” Thomas asked him as everyone walked out of the room.  
  
“Sorry, I can’t. I gotta go a different way. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”  
  
“Okay, yeah…see you tomorrow.”  
  
When Minho turned around and started walking away, he heard a very audible disappointed sigh and he wasn’t sure if that could have exactly been anything, but his thoughts, but he did know that if he really could hear what Thomas was thinking, he would use it to make the best for him, especially when he needs it most. He didn’t want to invade his privacy or anything, but he thought he could be more useful instead of just being there like he is now. He would just need to talk to him to spark thoughts.  
  
Speaking of talking to Thomas, when Minho got back home and went to his room, on his bed was a cheap, yet still operational phone. There was a note next to it that read, “To Minho. For your troubles. Don’t worry about paying a single cent.” It didn’t say who it was from, but Minho had a guess. He sat down on his bed and picked up the phone, which was already on. Now only if he knew how to use it…  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! Sorry it took me so long. ^^;  
> As always, let me know if there's any mistakes and, please, enjoy!

It didn’t take Minho very long to put Thomas’s number in his new phone. He clicked the ‘text message’ selection and started to type out a message to him. ‘Hey. So. I found an older phone that works. ‘ He typed and sent. It wasn‘t a bad lie. It’s not like it really mattered how he got a phone, anyways. Not even a minute later, the ring tone went off, which was an annoying beep sound that he would have to change later. He opened up the phone and looked at the message.  
  
‘Really? Awesome! Now we can talk all the time. ;) Are you up on all the texting slang or do I need to keep texting like this?’  
  
Minho had no idea what texting slang he was talking about, so naturally, he almost replied that it was fine for him to use the slang he was talking about, but then settled on, ‘Haven’t had a phone in a while, so I don’t remember.’ Even though he had never had a phone in his life.  
  
‘Ok. That’s cool. I don’t mind. Good grammar is a necessity for me.’ Then a second later, ‘So, when are we gonna meet? For the violin thing?’  
  
‘How’s tomorrow around four?’  
  
‘Your place?’  
  
‘My place.’  
  
‘Sounds awesome. Look, I might not be at school tomorrow, though.’  
  
‘Why not?’ He frowned to himself. He’d just come back and then he’s going to be gone again.  
  
‘I just have something to do and it’s in the morning times. Don’t worry. I’ll still see you tomorrow, obviously. Just not at school.’  
  
‘Okay. See you tomorrow.’  
  
‘Yeah. Bye.’  
  
‘Bye.’ After Minho sent the message, he sighed and put his phone down. He wondered what Thomas had to do, but he wasn’t going to bug him about it or try to read his mind or whatever. He didn’t even know if he could actually do it. It hadn’t happened with anyone else and he hadn’t seen Thomas since. He would just have to wait.  
  
-  
  
The next day, after Minho finished school and did his paper route, he made sure that his house was clean and there was enough space for them in the living room. He opened up a window to get some fresh air and took a deep breath. This day would be good, he hoped. It wasn’t much later when he heard a knock at his door and went to answer it. There he saw Thomas with a violin case in his hand, smiling.  
  
“Hey.” Thomas greeted, smiling at him.  
  
“Hey.” Minho replied and he let him inside. From there on, they didn’t really talk about much else other than his violin and how to play it. Thomas seemed really happy with his instrument and even played a few things, seeming calm as he did so. Minho started to wonder if he played a lot to remove himself from the world, just focusing on the music as it seemed like he did. Honestly, he knew nothing about the violin, but after about an hour, he knew everything Thomas knew. He wouldn’t tell or show him that he was at the same level now. It wasn’t fair. He was good at learning and remembering new things, it was sort of part of his job. Instead, when Thomas semi-reluctantly handed him his violin and bow, he played mediocrity, not even holding the bow the way he was supposed to. Apparently, that made Thomas uncomfortable because he almost immediately fixed his hold on it and then backed off to let him play a simple D major scale in whole notes, which, in Minho’s opinion, took way too long in the tempo he was playing at.  
  
“That was good.” Thomas praised him. “Really good. Not a single note out of tune.”  
  
“Yeah, I’ll never be as good as you, though. You’re really good. Probably the best I’ve ever seen.” It wasn’t a lie since he’d technically never seen anyone play a full piece before.  
  
He shook his head. “I’m not that good. Not even close to being the best, even in the orchestra.” He sighed quietly. “I’m in like the fifth stand in my section.”  
  
“I’m guessing that’s not good?”  
  
“Well, it’s not the best. The girl in first chair, which is basically where the best player goes, is really, really good! She’s only been playing for two years and she’s way better than me. And she’s even better at the piano because that’s what she played first. That’s why people only appreciate her and maybe the other girl that sits with her. They’re the two good players. No one ever appreciates or mentions someone like me, who’s further in the back…”  
  
Minho frowned. “Hey, I appreciate you. You’re the one who I want to teach me how to play and you’re my friend, not them, if that means anything. I wouldn’t choose anyone else.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Yes, really. I mean it. I can’t tell you not to be upset, but just don’t think that no one appreciates you because I do and I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” There was a brief silence. He wasn’t exactly sure where that came from. He’d thought it in his head, but to say it aloud was something he wasn’t expecting himself to do.  
  
“You…really feel that way?”  
  
“Yeah.” He said after a small pause. “Yeah, I do. You’re my first real friend. You’re the first person to come to my house and to actually have a conversation with me, even if sometimes it’s awkward.”  
  
Thomas let out a small, breathy laugh, knowing that statement was completely true. “Yeah. I guess, if I’m being honest, you’re probably the one that cares for me the most out of all of my friends. They never talk to me out of school, really, or even want to try to help me when I’m not feeling myself. Even after…after my mom died they just…” His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat. “It just didn’t seem like they cared very much, you know?” He blinked away tears. “They were like everyone else. They just said how sorry they were and that was really it. Even if it was just that one time, still, you just…you comforted me. And you broke my fall when I fell from the tree, thanks. Still don’t know how you didn’t hurt yourself. Lucky bastard.” He joked, smiling. “I just…you and my sister. You two seem like the only people who can really make me happy and make me feel like you actually care.” He saw that Minho was just looking at him and not saying a thing. “Sorry for saying so much. I wanted you to know because if something happened to you, I don’t know how I would handle it. We’re just starting to become closer, which is what I really want.” There was more silence between them. “We were just playing the violin and then all the sudden this emotional shit happened for no reason. Maybe I should leave.” He spoke quickly, putting his violin in the case and heading towards the door.  
  
“No, wait.” Minho finally spoke, Thomas turning towards him. “Before you leave, I want to say that I was just kind of surprised. We haven’t exactly said anything like that to each other and it’s strange in general for me to talk to people or hear people say these sort of things to me. I don’t really know what to say, sorry, but…I can assure you that I’ll be fine and…I know this friendship is gonna work out. It’s gonna bloom like a beautiful flower.” He let out a tiny laugh. “So just…just stay safe and I’ll see you again tomorrow?”  
  
Thomas nodded. “Yeah.” He turned around and left the apartment. When he was outside the door, he smiled softly to himself, rubbing away the tears still in his eyes from earlier. “…tomorrow…” He was sure everything would go better tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long and I'm sorry, but I've been busy lately. I can't promise you that I'll start updating regularly, but I'll get to it eventually and quicker than I have been. Hope you guys enjoy and let me know if I made any mistakes with grammar and things of that nature (I wrote most of this pretty late, as usual). Love you guys! ^^ <3

The next day, as promised, they saw each other again. It was right after school. Minho was walking home and Thomas came up behind him. "Minho!" He called out, running up behind him.  
  
"Hey, Thomas." He smiled. They'd seen each other at lunch and in the classes they shared, but surprisingly never talked about hanging out later in the day.   
  
"So, you wanna do something today?"  
  
"Yeah, why not?" He shrugged, happy. "What did you have in mind?"  
  
"We could go get an ice cream because I'm absolutely craving some and then your house?"  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
Thomas grinned, thinking to himself. "Man, I really hope today goes well." He glanced at Minho and then looked down. "Crap, I think I'm starting to really like him. It hasn't even been that long! Not like it matters...damned crushes. Ugh, he doesn't even like me. Stop thinking about it, you're probably acting weird and getting strange looks from said person you're walking with to go eat ice cream and then go to his house and do...stuff." He looked over at Minho and saw him just staring at him, so he looked away. "See!? Look at what you've done!"  
  
Minho stared at him for a few more seconds before he looked away. He definitely just heard Thomas's thoughts again because there was no way he would say any of that aloud. He almost started to wonder, once again, why he could hear only Thomas's thoughts, but then realized something. Thomas just kind of not really admitted that he liked him. He...like liked him. Minho was just going to pretend he didn't know that fact because he wasn't supposed to know, but at the same time he was curious to know what would happen if he tried something. Not just full on thrust a relationship and a declaration of love upon him or something because that would just be too much, but if he just started to flirt with him...who was he kidding? He didn't know how to flirt. He could try, but...  
  
"Minho. Hey." Thomas waved a hand in front of his face. "I asked you what kind of ice cream you want."  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Chocolate is fine."  
  
"Ayy, chocolate!" He got out his wallet. "I'll go buy it, wait here." Thomas walked over to the counter, leaving Minho to wonder how long he was thinking for and when they actually got to the ice cream shop. When Minho came back, he handed Minho his cup of ice cream and a spoon with a napkin, digging into his own right away.  
  
Minho watched him for a few seconds, a small smile on his face before he started to eat his own ice cream, still watching him fondly, not realizing he might’ve looked a little bit creepy.  
  
Thomas shoved another spoon of ice cream in his mouth and looked up, seeing Minho looking at him. He paused and then slowly pulled the spoon out of his mouth, wiping the chocolate from his lips and swallowing his ice cream. “So, um…your house?”  
  
Minho nodded and they both started to walk. He didn’t look at Thomas for a while, but when he did, he noticed chocolate on the corner of his mouth, where his tongue didn’t reach when he licked his lips. He wanted to ignore it, he really did, but after a while he just couldn’t. Instead of just saying, “Hey, you’ve got some ice cream right there,” He stopped walking, took his napkin, and started to wipe the chocolate off.  
  
Thomas stopped walking only after Minho started touching his face, not having seen him stop and he stood still, wondering what the hell was going on.  
  
Minho pulled the napkin away, the chocolate no longer there and, because he was pleased, started to walk again.  
  
Thomas blinked a few times and then touched his face where Minho wiped, finally understand what happened. “Oh…” He said quietly to himself. “Well, that’s kinda embarrassing.” He mumbled, walking again, catching up to Minho.  
  
Neither of them said anything until they got to the apartment and up to Minho’s room. “So…” Thomas started, throwing away his empty ice cream cup. “What do you want to do? We can’t exactly practice my violin ‘cause I don’t have it with me, but…”  
  
“I don’t know.” Minho said, honestly. “What do normal people do?”  
  
“Normal people?” He laughed. “I have no idea what normal people do. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not of the normal type.”  
  
Minho shrugged. “You seem pretty normal to me. Nothing out of the ordinary has really happened.”  
  
“…I literally climbed up a tree and then fell down on top of you.”  
  
“…yeah, but that’s pretty normal, right?”  
  
“Kinda? Probably not? I don’t even know.”  
  
There was a brief silence.  
  
“So…wanna watch a movie?”  
  
-  
  
A little over an hour and a half later, Thomas was unknowingly holding onto Minho’s shirt as they watched a horror movie that he himself had picked out. “Oh my god…what the hell is that?”  
  
Minho watched as Thomas stared at the screen. The movie was pretty damn creepy. At first it was a little slow, but once things started to actually happen and Thomas in particular started to seem terrified, he wondered why he even picked the movie out of the others that were on tv. He seemed scared to death and the movie was in Spanish, but luckily had subtitles. He was pretty sure Thomas didn’t know Spanish. Right now there was this weird, creepy monster thing (Minho wasn’t paying very close attention) that was trying to find the two remaining people. It was scary, but Minho didn’t let it get to him because he knew he would be having a similar, but less intense reaction as Thomas.  
  
Obviously, Thomas wasn’t the same because he literally almost screamed, covering his mouth with his hand when one of the main characters was dragged away from the camera’s view and the movie ended.  
  
Thomas’s eyes were wide and he looked over at Minho, whom he was now half in the lap of. “That…was amazing.” He let out a loud sigh and let his head fall on Minho’s shoulder. “Did that scare you as much as it scared me?” He laughed. “Probably not.” He soon realized he had a death grip on Minho’s shirt and he let go, but didn’t move any further away from him, even when he knew he was probably a little bit too close. He looked directly at Minho, trying to see if he was okay with being this close to him or if it was too weird for him.  
  
Minho looked back at him, wondering what exactly he wanted from him. He tried to read his thoughts, but he knew it wouldn’t work on command. He barely even wanted to know what was going on in his mind. It seemed like an invasion of privacy, but at the moment, with Thomas just staring at him, he was starting to get even more unsure of what to do.  
  
Then, Thomas leaned closer to him, breathing slightly heavier than normal and he kissed him.  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
